Empathy
by ImAnOpenFanFic
Summary: One-Shot that may be continued. Based off my experiences playing Enemy Within, witness my take on my Squad's missions and the trials and tribulations they go through on my seventh play-through. Please review, it gives incentive for further chapters where I indulge in my take of the characters.


Empathy

Big Sky touched down at the designated drop sight, dropping the hatch for the crew to begin their mission. Central gave the go-ahead, Strike One was cleared to engage any and all hostiles. The abductor ship was just over a small hill, and already a Mechtoid and two Commander Sectoids spotted the team. Sniper George "Quarterback" Harris bounced off the ground and activated his Archangel suit, ascending 25 feet, His eyes glowed orange as he fired a concentrated plasma shot at the furthest Commanders head, an instant kill. The MEC-3 Paladin, piloted by John "Johnny-Boy" Klinkert, charged his Particle Cannon and zealously ran towards the enemy mech.

The lowest rank in the squad, Captain Annette "Yeller" Durand, Kept her head down as she shadowed the large friendly Mech. Annette prepared mentally to enter the mind of an enemy and rip it apart from within. She was the only one who took pleasure from such an act. Beside her was the Plasma Cannon wielding Phillip "Titan" DeAlba, who suppressed the second and closest Commander Sectoid before it could fall back to a safer position behind a filled abduction pod.

Ritz "Fencer" Malheur got to higher ground beside her long-time partner, medic and squad leader, Nathan "Afro" Freeze. Nathan fired a Plasma burst at the Mechtoid and Ritz fired a single, solid alloy surrounded with plasma discharge. The Mechtoid sparked with damage, allowing John to use his Kinetic energy to punch the Mechtoid to the ground, dead and gone.

The last Commander panicked when Annette entered it's mind, and attempted to run. DeAlba took it's lack of cover as a chance to dispatch the last of the ships bouncers, it fell to the ground with the all-too-familiar death rattle of the Sectoids.

Ritz and Nathan then heard the massive footsteps and creaking of metal-against-metal that signaled the arrival of a Sectopod, this hulking mass of destruction accompanied by the two smallest of the teams enemies, Drones. Ritz could see the chest cannon of the Sectopod charge with a menacing scarlet light, she had seconds to react before concentrated light seared through her and the squad leaders armor, the shot would kill them. She reacted.

Ritz threw Nathan down the hill as three continues charges of pure light burnt though the her side, through her armor, piercing the skin. She shrieked in pain, no amount of training, or the experiences Ritz has had with getting hit with other of the enemies weaponry, could prepare her for the pain of this large laser through her body.

The rest of the Squad, although too late, focused fire on the Sctopod. John took two precise shots, DeAlba fired a plasma charge from his Blaster Launcher, Annette ran forward and dealt with the Drones before they could weld the Sectopod back to perfection.

Nathan, on the other hand, ran to Ritz. Besides Alba and Annette, Nathan was the most experienced with his Psionic abilities. And despite the fact that Ritz didn't posses such powers, Nathan had the unusual ability to hear the thoughts of Ritz, but he didn't realize was that he just felt a fraction of the pain she just experienced. He was scared. Not for the squad, who held the Sectopod down, but for the woman he swore to help survive this alien takeover. He slid to her and disregarded the blood that stained his Psi Armor. While not killing her, though she half-wished it did, her side was burnt nearly to her vital organs.

Nathan quickly yanked out his Medpack and sprayed the gel over the large wound. Ritz screamed and wallowed in pain, Nathan held her shoulder down but gave the job of that to Annette, who just arrived to help.

"How bad is it?" Annette tried to remain calm, for Ritz's sake. Annette had little training with Medpacks, never carried one into battle and never cared to learn from the medic's how they even work. All the woman knew was that they worked, a sharp pain as it expanded through the wound, plugging it up like a anesthetic cork.

"Riitz, you are going to be okay." He paused, reading the mind of Ritz and ignoring the question. "Nothing serious, if you could stop struggling." But Ritz still writhed underneath his help. "Ritz!" he yelled over her agonized yells. The pain was getting to her, the aftermath still burned her insides and the memory of said pain didn't help.

Nathan waved Annette away, and she returned to help the squad fend back Muton Elites. With the pain Ritz was going through, there was only one thing he could do to alleviate the pain. He backed up a few steps, and what the squad then heard was a quick sound of shocks peirce the air and Ritz's screams stop. Nathan didn't kill her, he couldn't. But the second of immense pain saved her from the time waiting for the ship to be cleared.


End file.
